New BUS extension - £2500 Grant for Air to Air Heat Pump / Air Con units

Scot_39

Posted this on the Air Source Heat Pumps Page - but people might only be loking their for wet systems - so reposted here - will delete if required.

On the front page of todays The Times - from the BBC website Papers Page

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czr157nzvygo

"Households will be able to get £2500 grant for Air Con"

And the actual official govt announcement

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/discounts-for-families-to-keep-warm-in-winter-and-cool-in-summer

squiz18

Thats great news, thanks for sharing. Buying a house and we're looking at air con so this will be very useful. 

matt_drummer

Is it great news?

The rules of the BUS grant

You’re eligible for a grant if both of the following are true. You must:

• own the property you’re applying for (including if it’s a business, a second home, or a property you rent out to tenants)

• be replacing fossil fuel heating systems - such as oil, gas, electric or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas)

I don't think anybody will be getting a grant of £2,500 just to add air conditioning to their pad!

Scot_39

squiz18 said:

Thats great news, thanks for sharing. Buying a house and we're looking at air con so this will be very useful. 

You do realise its a "boiler upgrade scheme" grant - you have to be replacing old heating - not just wanting air con.

I wonder how much you would have to do - all heating - main areas etc.

And then I suppose there are all the insulation conditions etc as per the £7500 wet grant.

And remember you will still need alt hot water heating - these are not proper ASHP that can do both.

Netexporter

The grant for heat batteries is good news for people in flats, where heat pumps aren't generally feasible.

QrizB

Netexporter said:

The grant for heat batteries is good news for people in flats, where heat pumps aren't generally feasible.

Without this grant, heat batteries are currently more expensive than electrical batteries. Electrical batteries meanwhile are far more flexible; try plugging your kettle into a heat battery, for example.

It'll be interesting to see whether the grant (and all the associated admin) changes the economics, but I don't see it saving heat batteries from obsolescence.

Edit to add an example.

Tepeo ZEB - 40kWh heat battery, £6k. £150/kWh.

https://www.tepeo.com/

vs.

Fogstar 32kWh storage battery, £2985. £93/kWh.

https://www.bimblesolar.com/batteries/48vbatts/fogstar-house/fogstar-48v-32kwh